An extra £400,000 is being made available to fund dental places for Shropshire people who have not seen an NHS dentist for more than two years.

The funding will pay for an additional 4,700 appointments for check-ups and has been made available by Shropshire County Primary Care Trust using part of its dental allocation from the Department of Health.

Liz Welsh, the trust’s senior commissioning manager, said: “We know that more people would like to see a NHS dentist.

“We have the opportunity to invest over £400,000 to create extra dental capacity across the county, allowing more people to be seen by a NHS dentist and be given a dental check-up.

“While it may not be possible to get people an appointment with their nearest dentist, we will work hard to get as many people placed as close to their home as possible.”

She said space would be issued on a first come, first served basis.

NHS check-ups cost £16.50 and NHS dental care is free to children under 18 or in full-time education.

It is also free for people with pension credit guaranteed, and for pregnant women and mothers with children up to a year old.

Anyone who would like to put their name forward for a check-up should contact the trust calling 01743 277561 or via e-mail to shropshiredental@shropshirepct.nhs.uk

The number of people with access the NHS services is now significantly better than the West Midlands average.

But there can still be problems. Last January, during a House of Commons debate, Shrewsbury MP Daniel Kawczynski asked the then health minister, Ann Keen, what plans there were to improve dental provision in the county.

He said that his experience of trying to find a NHS dentist for himself and his family had been an “absolute nightmare”.

Ms Keen said that over the previous 12 months the number of people who had seen a NHS dentist had risen by more than 11,000.